Film created for The Guardian series It’s Complicated, examining how the global demand for smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles has driven an increasing need for battery minerals, helping to fuel ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The film focuses on the fighting in the eastern region between M23 rebels and government forces, a conflict with deep historical roots linked in part to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and intensified by the international demand for resources such as cobalt and coltan.

The visual approach followed a clear, documentary-led style inspired by contemporary explainer journalism, combining direct typography, mapped graphics, and archive-driven storytelling to present a complex subject in an accessible and compelling way. The aim was to support the narrative without sensationalism, allowing the scale and seriousness of the story to speak for itself. Watch the whole fim here.

Design and animation by Steve Glew.